The New York Jets’ rough situation at wide receiver got worse earlier in August with news that Quincy Enunwa would miss the entire 2017 season with a neck injury. Then it sank further when Lucky Whitehead broke his foot in practice. But second-year wide receiver Charone Peake is convinced the team will be just fine.
Jets receiver is way too optimistic about the team’s WR corps
The Jets wide receiver corps is filled with no-names, but Charone Peake is still sure there’s a 1,000-yard receiver in there somewhere.
Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports
“There definitely is a 1,000-yard receiver [on the team],” Peake told ESPN on Wednesday. “Could be more than one. There’s a lot of good receivers in that room.”
After parting ways with Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker in the offseason, Enunwa is the only Jets receiver on the roster with more than 1,000 yards over his career. The next closest is Marquess Wilson, a former Bears receiver who tallied 777 yards in four seasons in Chicago before joining the Jets on a cheap contract in June.
Finishing a season with more than 1,000 receiving yards is no small feat. Even Enunwa’s breakout 2016 season ended with 857 yards.
Both Marshall and Decker finished with more than 1,000 yards in 2015, but those are the only times a Jets receiver has eclipsed the mark since 2007.
The Jets wide receiving corps is headlined by little-known players like Peake, Robby Anderson, and Jalin Marshall. Anderson may be facing a suspension after an arrest in May, and Marshall was handed a four-game suspension in March for testing positive for Adderall.
Peake — a seventh-round pick in 2016, who finished his rookie season with 186 yards — may have as strong a chance as any to start for the team in Week 1.
Meanwhile, the Jets’ quarterback situation — which will likely feature Josh McCown as a starter over Christian Hackenberg and Bryce Petty — doesn’t inspire much hope for the offense either.
To be fair to Peake, it’s possible he just means that the Jets roster has talented receivers who will cross the 1,000-yard mark at some point. He doesn’t specifically say that 2017 will be that year, although he did say the team is optimistic about the upcoming season.
“We know what we’re capable of,” Peake told ESPN. “We just have to go out and prove it to everybody. ... We’re capable of having a big year. We have big goals and we’re just going to make plays.”
Hey, there’s nothing wrong with positive thinking and seeing the glass as half full. This glass looks pretty close to empty, though.
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